or, perhaps Olive the Woolly Blogger…

“Olive, the doctor will see you now…”

In this day and age of cyber-reality where online networking has redefined the social norm, I definitely consider Nick Hamill a good friend, even though I’ve never met him in person. A few years ago when the Olive books were first published, Nick and I struck up an online correspondence (truth be told, we met in a fly fishing chat room). Since then he and his kids have become fans and big supporters of Olive.

For example, a couple of years ago, Nick, who is a very talented fly tier, created these very unique versions of Olive and friends to entertain his kids.

But Nick’s enthusiastic support of Olive didn’t end there. Most recently he asked if I’d be willing to send high res images of illustrations from the Olive books so that he might decorate the walls of his medical practice. Of course I eagerly obliged, and Nick had the images digitally printed on canvas and stretched over frames. The results are exceptional–I want a set!

You’ll also note the presence of some artwork by artist Derek DeYoung hanging on the walls of the waiting room of Nick’s practice (below, left).

Says the good doctor, “I was attempting to keep my fishing addiction subtle, but I think I blew it.”

I would agree. Well done!

So the next time you’re in Tacoma, WA in need of a ears/nose/throat specialist, I recommend you schedule an appointment to see Dr. Nicholas Hamill at Pacific Otolaryngology. Nobody likes going to the doctor, but Olive may help reduce some of that fear. And you’ll be in very capable hands. After all, anyone who can tied flies like Nick can must be pretty good at tending to other delicate matters.

Thanks to Nick and his family for being such great friends of Olive. Your support is very much appreciated!